The Dragon Chronicles_City of Sin

by Melissa Stevens

  Chris stood staring out the window for several minutes before turning and taking a seat behind his desk. There, he checked messages, contacted the on-shift supervisor, and double-checked with security to make sure there was nothing that needed his attention.

  Forty-five minutes later, Chris leaned back in his chair and stretched, flexing the stiff muscles in his back from being bent over his desk studying the pages that had awaited him. A glance at the clock on his desk told him he needed to get a move on, so he headed back up the stairs to his apartment to change.

  CHRIS PULLED UP IN front of the MesoAmerican and got out. He handed the keys to his Lamborghini Centenario to the valet.

  “Keep it close, I'll be right back out,” he said to the uniformed kid before taking the steps two at a time up to the door. He paused inside the door to orient himself, as this wasn't the door he was used to using. Once he adjusted to the light and noise, he realized the front desk was nearby. Heading in that direction, he spotted Rachel as she approached the area herself. The sight of her nearly took his breath away.

  She wore a simple black dress, and a pair of heels, which couldn't be comfortable but made her legs and ass look amazing. He wanted to go down to her place right then and there, forget about dinner and his place, but he had a strong desire to see her hair spread across his sheets. He wanted to be able to smell her skin even when she wasn't there.

  “Wow.” He let her see him looking her up and down, knowing she would like that he appreciated the effort she'd put into looking nice for him.

  “You think so?” Rachel spun then turned back to him.

  “I do.” He stopped in front of her and offered her his arm. “You ready?”

  “I am.” She brought her hand up from underneath and gripped his forearm. “Where are we going?”

  “That's still a surprise.” Chris glanced at her from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but chuckle at the dirty look she shot him. “You can be as un-happy as you want, I don't care. Teasing you like this is fun.”

  “Meanie.” She bumped him with her shoulder as they made their way toward the door.

  Outside, Chris found that his car was still sitting in the entryway, he held out his hand, the valet dropped the key into his palm, and he hit the button to unlock it.

  “Thanks,” Chris barely looked at the man as he stepped past with Rachel.

  “This isn't what I was expecting.” She glanced at him a moment, a slight crease between her eyes.

  “You had a hard time getting in and out of the truck, so I brought something easier to get into,” he glanced down at her feet, “especially in those.”

  “That's sweet. Thank you.” Rachel stretched up and placed a kiss on his cheek. Chris opened the car door and held it while she climbed in, then went around to the driver’s side. “Besides, it's not like it's a hardship to have to drive this.” Unable to resist, he revved the engine before pulling out onto the street.

  Rachel laughed. A light, happy sound that made his wolf roll against the inside of his skin. It was a sound and a feeling he would love to get used to.

  11

  “Besides, it's not like it's a hardship to have to drive this.” He grinned and revved the engine a moment before pulling out onto the street.

  Rachel laughed. “I'm not all that into cars, but what is this?”

  Chris glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he maneuvered the sleek, low riding car through traffic. “It's a Lamborghini Centenario.” He ran one hand lovingly over the wheel. “Up until recently, it was one of my favorite things.”

  Rachel shook her head once, she knew what a Lamborghini was, more than expensive, but the model meant nothing to her. She just didn't care about cars that much. “Up until recently?” She frowned, wondering what had upstaged the car.

  “Yep,” Chris reached over, picked up her hand, and kissed the back while meeting her gaze. “Very recently.”

  Oh. He meant her. Wow. What could a girl say? She knew some men loved their cars like children, and to think that she'd moved up in his esteem so quickly? She was a little floored at the idea. “Oh, um. Wow.” He must have been serious when he said he was looking for a relationship and not just a fling. She understood that, she had meant what she'd said as well, but even then, this was a little fast.

  No, it's not. He knows you're his just like he's yours.

  Will you stop that and stay out of this?

  Why? It's my life too. He's my mate too. Rachel looked at him from the corner of her eye, trying to watch him a moment without him realizing what she was doing. Her mate. Was she ready for that? It looked like whether she was ready for him or not, here he was, and her dragon was bound and determined to see to it that she ended up bound to him.

  “How fast does this thing go?” she couldn't help but ask.

  “Over two hundred.”

  “How fast have you had it?” Rachel knew it was going to be high. Why would a man own a car that would go that fast without trying it out at least? And that was a normal human, a werewolf had faster than normal reflexes, of course he'd tested the capabilities of his toy.

  “Um. About one eighty.” Chris glanced at her. “You want to go for a ride? We can eat once we're through if you would like.”

  “Sure. It sounds fun.”

  “Buckle up.” He shifted gears and changed lanes as he headed for the interstate instead of wherever he'd planned to take her. She reached back and grabbed the seat belt, buckling it around her as he hit the ramp onto the highway out of town.

  Twenty minutes later, they had left the lights of town behind and were on the long, nearly empty, stretch of highway 95. Once there were only a couple of headlights visible, Chris floored it, and the car shot forward.

  Rachel's first instinct was to hold on tight, but after a moment, the urge passed. It only took a few seconds and the world was flying by in a way that reminded her of flying, without the physical and psychic drain of trying to control the air around her enough to lift her body. She tilted her head back and laughed, loud. The ride was more exhilarating than she had imagined, and she loved it. After a few minutes, he took his foot off the accelerator and let the momentum carry them a while longer, slowing without hitting the brakes. When they slowed enough that they were going the speed limit, Chris glanced over at her.

  “I take it you enjoyed that?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He pulled over at a wide spot on the road and turned around.

  “I'll take the trip back to town at a calmer speed.” He glanced over and laid one hand on her knee. “How would you feel about opening the top?”

  Rachel’s heart raced, and she knew her face had completely changed. “The top opens?”

  Chris grinned and hit something and the top slid open. Wind whipped her hair everywhere, and she couldn't help but laugh. She loved the wind in her face and the crisp night air. She had no idea how long they'd been on the road, or how far they had gone. Right now, she didn't care.

  CHRIS PULLED THE CAR up in front of the main entrance of Lunar Obsession. After getting out, he opened her door for her and handed his keys to the valet who called him sir and said they'd take good care of the car, parking it in his normal spot. Rachel watched as they went back to the car, then turned her attention back to her date. He escorted her through the large glass doors, which led directly to the casino floor. Rachel noticed he didn't pause as they walked in or look around at all. He knew exact-ly where he was going as he led her across the floor, between rows of slot machines and around tables. At the entrance to a high-end steak house called Harvest Moon, Chris walked past the line of a half dozen people waiting to get in and around behind the hostess.

  “Is my table ready?” Chris asked the girl.

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Thank you,” he said. Rachel's hand still in his, he led her to a secluded table on one end of the restaurant. “Here we are.” Chris held her chair while Rachel sat, then took his seat across from her. They exchanged small talk about their respective F
ractions until the waitress arrived to take their orders.

  “I'll have the grilled lobster and shrimp.” Rachel folded her menu and laid it down.

  “The porterhouse,” Chris laid his menu on top of hers, he'd not even opened it, “Rare.”

  “Yes, sir.” The girl took the menus and disappeared, leaving them alone.

  “Rare?” Rachel wrinkled her nose.

  “I thought you knew; werewolves have a taste for meat, the rarer the better.” Chris scowled. “The more savage among us want us to still be eating normals, but that's not allowed any more, especially not here.”

  “It was before my time, but I have no doubt some of the dragons ate normals. I'm not sure about my ancestors, but I know the Quetzalcoatl did on occasion.” She gave him a wry smile and tried to steer the conversation back to something more pleasant. “This is your Fraction's property, right?”

  “It is. How did you guess?”

  “The moon thing was kind of a giveaway.” Rachel laughed. “Along with how people treat you. Do you manage it?”

  “I do, among other things.”

  “You manage other things or you do other things?” She watched him and grinned, hoping he would realize she was teasing.

  His eyes narrowed. “Both, but I'm guessing you already knew that.” He grinned and waited for her reaction.

  She smiled and shook her head. She liked that Chris was easy to be with, that she didn't have to worry about saying the right thing or the wrong thing when she was with him. Even when she was awkward with what she was trying to say, he just seemed to get it. It wasn't something that happened often. Teya understood her, and after a little while, so had Neo. But no one understood her as quickly as Chris had. It was almost like Teya and Jericho. They had seemed to click from day one. It looked like her dragon was right, maybe he was hers. Her mate.

  12

  Chris was enjoying dinner with Rachel when his phone rang. He wanted to ignore it. Rachel was funny and easy to be around, and her laugh touched something deep inside that Chris hadn't been certain existed before now. But checking the screen revealed the call was from one of his investigators.

  “I'm sorry,” he said to Rachel. “I have to take this. Will you excuse me?”

  “Of course.” She waved one hand as if it was nothing. Chris stood and went through a nearby door, which led to the kitchen.

  “Adam,” Chris said as he answered the call. “I hope this is worth the interruption.”

  “I'm sorry about the timing, sir. Maggie said you were on a date.”

  “I am.” Chris wished Adam would get to the point; he wanted to get back to Rachel.

  “Sorry about that, sir.” Adam paused for a breath. “You know I'm following up on several leads on who's behind the underground meat market, right?”

  “Yes. That's what I asked you to do.”

  “I've been asking questions and apparently, I attracted more attention than I anticipated.”

  “Who have you crossed?” Chris sighed and wondered who he was going to have to smooth things over with.

  “Well, I'm not sure it's crossed exactly, but the leader of the wolf shifter Fraction says he wants a meeting. Tonight.” Chris took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose while he exhaled slowly and tried to contain his temper.

  “Give me the details.”

  “He said he wants to meet at Ophir at sunrise. If you don't come, he'll consider it an act of aggression, and it will be war between the werewolves and the shifters, he doesn't give a damn what the angels had to say about it. He said you'd know where Ophir is.”

  A low growl escaped Chris's throat before he could stop it.

  “All right. Thank you for letting me know. I'll deal with him.”

  “I'm sorry again, sir.”

  “I'll be in touch.” Chris didn't wait for Adam to respond before disconnecting the call. He took several deep breaths before rolling his shoulders and heading back out to the table and Rachel.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked as he sat back down.

  “No, but it will hold for a little while.”

  The waitress appeared, bringing their food, and they were quiet for a few minutes as they each ate.

  “I can tell it's still bothering you, whatever the call was about. Can you share?” Rachel laid her flatware down and watched him. Chris was quiet for a moment, debating on how much to tell her.

  “That was one of my investigators. He's been checking into something for me and was confronted by the leader of the wolf shifters, who's demanding I meet with him or there will be war between the weres and the shifters.”

  “Oh.” She glanced down at her plate then back up to him. “When's the meeting?”

  Chris glanced at his watch. “In about seven hours.”

  “Oh. I guess I'll go back to my place tonight then.” Her gaze fell to her plate once more, and she looked disappointed.

  “I was thinking you might like to go along. The place where he wants to meet is a good distance away... several hours if you drive the speed limit, but it's pretty. Besides, it might be a good idea to have someone else as a mediator or witness. And it would let you know what you're getting into if we decide we want to go any further with this mate thing.”

  Rachel sat back and watched him for several seconds. Chris wondered what was going through her mind since she'd not broadcasted her thoughts again since that morning. Her eyes narrowed, and he braced himself for whatever she was about to say.

  “If we decide to go further? Are you having second thoughts?”

  “No. I know I want you. But I'm not going to take it for granted that you want the same thing. I know weres are not the easiest people to live with. I don't even know who my own mother is. The last thing I want to do is to trap you into a mating you will re-sent me for later.”

  “You said the meeting is in about seven hours, that means somewhere around sunrise,” she paused as if doing the math, “depending on how long things take, we won't get back to town until at least mid-morning, probably closer to noon, or after.”

  “Probably.” He knew this wasn't a point in his favor. She would hate to lose time she could be looking for her brother. “But I suspect this guy may know something about the disappearances.”

  Rachel narrowed her eyes and watched him a moment, as if trying to figure out what he was talking about. “All right,” she said after a moment. “I'll go with you, but I'm gonna need to go back to my place and change before we head out of town. I can't think of anything at that kind of driving distance that a dress and heels would be appropriate for.” She gave him a wry smile.

  “No, you're right.” Chris glanced at his watch again. “But we don't have to hurry. We can finish dinner, and then I'll take you to change.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  DOUBTS ABOUT BRINGING Rachel along haunted Chris as the truck bounced and rattled over the rough road through the crag in the mountains that led to Ophir. He had no way of knowing how this guy was going to act. If the stranger was going to try to kill him, Chris had been foolish to bring his girl to witness it. Chris glanced across the cab at where Rachel held onto the oh shit handle over the door with white-knuckled fingers as she tried to keep from being thrown into the window or floorboard. She caught him looking, and turned and gave him a brilliant smile. Despite the rough roads and being thrown around the truck, she was having a blast.

  “Not too much farther,” Chris looked back to the road, “I think.”

  “You think?”

  He glanced over at her. “Yeah, it's been a while since I've been out here, and I'm not sure I've ever driven the road in the dark before, so the landmarks I'm used to seeing are harder to spot.” He shot her a wry smile. “But I'll get us there, no worries.”

  “I'm not worried.” She turned to stare out into the darkness. “This is fun.”

  13

  Rachel was just barely starting to see the horizon when Chris pulled off the dirt track that they'd used as road and parked
the truck. Rachel sat in the quiet for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the lack of headlights before she hit the release on her seatbelt and took a deep breath. It took a moment to let her senses catch up after the rough ride. It had been fun; though she'd smacked her head on the window a couple of times before she'd grabbed the handle above her head for some stability.

  “It looks like we beat them here.” She spun around in her seat as she looked for other vehicles.

  “It looks like it.” Chris released his own seat belt, opened the door, and climbed down.

  Rachel stayed where she was for the moment. Her eyes weren't as good in the dark as she knew his would be. A few seconds later, the door on her side opened, and she stared down into Chris's face.

  “You ready to come down? Let me help you.” Large hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her down, setting her gently on her feet. He was lowering his head towards hers, and Rachel thought he was going to kiss her, when they heard the soft crunch of rocks moving against each other.

  Chris spun around, stepping between her and where the sound had come from. Rachel leaned over and looked around him in time to see a wolf approach. The wolf stopped several feet away and transformed into a man. Between the darkness and distance, she couldn't be sure who the newcomer was. Rachel stepped around Chris as a low growl trickled from his throat. His hand grasped hers to keep her from getting too close to the other man.

  “Thank you for meeting me,” the new man spoke quietly, as sound carried well in the darkness. “I wasn't certain if you would show.”

  “You.” Rachel turned to find Chris's eyes narrowed as he stared at the other man, unveiled animosity clear on his face. “Why did you make me come all the way out here? We could have met in the city far more easily.”

  “We could have, but we could have been seen. I didn't want it to get out that I had met with you.” The new man's gaze shifted to look at Rachel. “Though, I didn't realize you'd bring someone with you, much less a dragon.”